Method for production of pea protein hydrolyzate

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pea protein hydrolyzate with very high purity and with organoleptic properties. The present invention also relates to a method for producing said pea protein hydrolyzate.

We claim: 
     
       1. A method for producing a pea protein hydrolyzate, comprising (a) mixing water and a pea protein product with at least 65% protein calculated as dry matter to form a slurry with a protein content up to about 20%;   (b) hydrolyzing said slurry by one or more proteases using a non-pH-stat method to form a hydrolyzed mixture which has a degree of hydrolysis of between 15 and 35%;   (c) inactivating said one or more proteases; and   (d) subjecting the hydrolyzed mixture to an ultrafiltration unit with a cut-off value above 5,000 to form a permeate comprising the pea protein hydrolyzate.   
     
     
       2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pea protein product is a pea protein concentrate. 
     
     
       3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pea protein product is a pea protein isolate. 
     
     
       4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the slurry has a protein content of 7-12%. 
     
     
       5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising heating the slurry to a temperature above 60° C. prior to hydrolyzing the slurry. 
     
     
       6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hydrolyzed mixture has a degree of hydrolysis of between 20 and 30% and the one or more proteases are endoproteases. 
     
     
       7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hydrolyzed mixture has a degree of hydrolysis of between 20 and 30% and the one or more proteases are derived from B. licheniformis or B. subtilis. 
     
     
       8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more proteases are inactivated by heat treatment. 
     
     
       9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more proteases are inactivated by acid treatment. 
     
     
       10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after inactivating the one or more proteases and prior to subjecting the hydrolyzed mixture to the ultrafiltration unit, treating the hydrolyzed mixture with activated carbon for more than 5 minutes at between 50° and 70° C. in an amount between 1 and 5% carbon, calculated in relation to dry matter content. 
     
     
       11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising heating the permeate to a temperature between 130° and 140° C. and immediately thereafter flash cooling the heated permeate to around 75° C. and then cooling to between 50° and 60° C. in a heat exchanger. 
     
     
       12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising concentrating the permeate by nanofiltration at a temperature between 50° and 70° C. to form a retentate comprising the protein hydrolyzate solution or by evaporation. 
     
     
       13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising spray drying the permeate to a water content below 6.5%.